The Zuwarah Awessu Festival festival was originally a sea ceremony held in the town of Zuwarah, a beach destination in west Libya. It marks the beginning of a special period where peolple tracing back to their pre-Islamic times. The Berbers of Zuwara take possessions and livestock into the water for ritual bathing before sunrise. During the years the festival became more commercial so today it mainly consists of sailing and swimming races as well as folk music, dancing and generous traditional feasts.